Oops I slipped…

My travels have come to a temporary end.

I was hiking the Narrows trail along the Rockcastle river in Kentucky’s Daniel Boone National Forest, slipped off the edge of the trail and broke me ankle.

There was no cell phone service so I ended up butt-crawling a ways on the trail (crutches I hacked together made things worse with weak wood out there) until I finally raised a faint signal. Texted 911 (so thankful they have this service for the deaf), helped their volunteer rescue squad locate me by boat on the river below and their wonderful firemen hauled me down the mountain with good cheer.

It was getting dark and my phone died the moment I saw them so I was very fortunate.

Since I was in middle of nowhere and local hospitals didn’t do ortho they had to airlift me to Lexington at the University of Kentucky’s hospital. I insisted I drive but they talked me out of it thankfully (still wincing waiting for that helicopter bill though…).

It was 4th of July weekend so I spent hours and hours watching humanity roll by in the hallways until they finally got to me and after several x-rays and a CAT scan determined I had a “closed trimalleolar fracture of right ankle.” Ouch, that’s three broken bones.

They give me a painkiller and wrenched my ankle back into place and tell me I will need surgery in a couple weeks. Then more x-rays to make sure all was wrangled into place.

I groggily asked them what the heck they gave me, whatever it was made go temporarily blind and as a deaf person that’s a terrifying thing.

“Ketamine,” she said. I shook my head furiously and said “never again!” Next to me two burly Federal Bureau of Prison guards watching over their prisoner getting his carved up ear stitched back together cracked up at my admonishment. “Right?!” I grinned.

X-rays are back; nope they didn’t wrench me back into place quite enough so the newly made cast is sliced off and more wrenching to come. This time they give me something other than Ketamine — weaker but more tolerable and my vision didn’t fade.

All good this time around and I am finally discharged from the hospital almost exactly 24 hours later.

Dear ole Dad flies up to drive me and my camper back to homebase in Gainesville, Florida. What a blessing he and my daughter have been at rallying help.

After meeting with a sports orthopedist in town and more x-rays & CAT scans it’s determined I actually have two broken bones and just one of them will need surgery. I’ll take that!

Now I await surgery in a few days.

The whole thing has been a relatively painless affair so I’ve been very lucky with that kind of break. The worst part of the whole thing? That dadgummed cabin fever. I just ain’t an indoor person so it slays my soul to stay immobilized on doctor’s orders.

But soon, I remind myself… Soon I will be free once again to roam and dance with beloved nature.

On the way back to homebase in Florida…